We started off on a visit to Beeston Castle, a place where I first visited in that sunny Easter of 2007. The day started off sunny ut by the time we arrived rain started. Ravens, Buzzards, Redpolls were some of the birds present. New arrivals were singing Blackcaps, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. Our next stop was Burton Mere Wetlands where some of the star birds present were Spotted Redshanks, Avocet, Redshanks and a Garganey drake at the Inner marsh Farm hide. I could mention Little Egrets but they are common as muck!
Then a brief visit to Burton Point and as I walked down along the path a fellow birder pointed at the wall. There was a beautiful male Wheatear looking extremely exhausted. As I looked around I noticed more and more. As we walked on there were even more. I paid the birder from Runcorn back by getting him a Swift, one had been seen earlier at BMW earlier. It was my first of the season and our earliest. I commented that i had not seen any Martins yet but within minutes 5-6 appeared. Then we moved onto Red Rocks nature reserve near Hoylake and the sun came out, the clouds disappeared. The small reserve is a real gem in the area and here were present singing Blackcaps, Sedge Warblers, Chffchaff and a Whitethroat. A regular visitor had not had a Whitethroat yet and so mine was the first until I commented online and someone had one on the day before. There were some calling Water Rails, 7 Mallard Drakes and Skylark in song.
Saturday just gone and another visit to the Wirral. Started off at Leasowe but was too windy so went to New Brighton. On the pier of the Marine Lake landed a flock of Turnstone and Redshank. After sometime we headed back to Leasowe - the sun came out and the wind speed decreased. We saw Linnet, House Sparrows Whitethroat, Sedge warbler, Skylark, Sparrowhawk and heard a reeling Grasshopper Warbler. My friend thought he saw a Wheatear on some brambles but I feel it was moe likely to have been a Lesser Whitethroat. I saw just it disappear. I told him it was the wrong habitat for a Wheatear. Onto Red Rocks but there had been a high tide and the numbers of people were high. A quick visit then to Thurstaston Common and Thurstaston Country Park - at the latter saw Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, hundreds of Redshank, Shelduck, Whimbrel, Dunlin - all barring the first two feeding as the waters receded. There was also Song Thrush, Corvids and usual Gulls in various places. Then onto Burton Point where we saw Whitethroat in the hedgerows, Meadow Pipits on the marsh, a Wheater on the walls,a Kestrel flying through and Little Egrets in the pools. We spotted a man focusing intently on something which turned out to be a pair of Whinchat. I have never seen a male before and it is a big shame we no longer have such a gorgeous bird breeding in Rossendale anymore. Just before the day ended 2 Swift flew over.
